PCNC1100 with BT30 Spindle and Power Drawbar
I was curious about this as my spindle was starting to sound a little noisy. Also, I wanted to get a more standard set of tools that I could use in the future and BT30 fit that criteria. But, I really want to have a power drawbar. Manual tool changes are not a step forward in my opinion.
I went and looked at the diagram for the 1100MX and noticed all the casting part numbers were the same as the 1100's. There was also a part number for the MX spindle cartridge (#39590). I called Tormach and asked about the availability for non MX owners to purchase it and was told it was not available for purchase at this time. This was after telling them what machine I was using it for of course. The other major detail about the fit on the 1100 I was told was that the bore in the casting was also a different size. I imagine it is larger.
I am only posting this because I had thought about this all week, shopping for Chinese spindle options, reading lots of forum posts, googling, etc.. I should have started with Tormach and then looked elsewhere. I hope this information is helpful to others and that if anyone has a way to purchase the spindle they post it here. Especially if they are doing the conversion.
Re: PCNC1100 with BT30 Spindle and Power Drawbar
If your spindle is noisy, why not just replace the bearings?
New cartridge, about 600; new bearings, 200. More or less, and my recollection of prices may be out of date.
A number of us have replaced bearings. It ain't that hard. Maybe a 3 on a scale of 10.
Re: PCNC1100 with BT30 Spindle and Power Drawbar
I was aware that the spindle was replaceable/rebuildable, it was more me just wanting to move forward as far as new tooling purchases. My next machine will at least be a BT30 machine. So, it made sense to make future purchases with that in mind. Tormach did announce a complete spindle head upgrade for 1100m to 1100MX. This would also be a complete bolt on for the 1100 folks too. The power draw bar would need a few modifications to work 100% but it seems pretty minor. My original post was more of an FYI for anybody that ever wanted a BT30 setup but didn't any options. Also, hoping that Tormach allows us to purchase the spindle/spindle head if we chose to pursue it.